August 3, 2010
399 words, according to OpenOffice word count.
Diagon Alley had a renewed vigour that had been missing for more than two years. Everything seemed more colorful and vibrant and happier. People crowded the streets once again, the blistering cold doing nothing to dampen their good spirits.
Draco wandered out of the Leaky Cauldron, tightening the scarf around his neck. It felt good not only to stretch his legs, but to be around people. He hadn't reconnected with any of his old Slytherin friends after the war, and at the Ministry he only saw the dour expressions of work-weary individuals, many of which still sneered at him as if he were scum, while he mopped up the coffee they had spilled.
He'd grown quieter as a result.
But he missed the days when he could pick a fight with Potter—days when the most severe punishment he feared was detention. He missed having the respect of his peers, having an audience when he spoke, making a joke (usually at someone else's expense) and hearing people laugh. He loved his mum, but he wanted more than she could give.
He was also angry. With everyone. With his father for messing up what they had had. With society for turning against the Malfoys, for looking down on them like they were criminals, for not understanding what Draco had gone through during the war, how he had had no choice. Life in this new colorful world was so unfair.
"Excuse me," a voice said, interrupting his brooding.
Draco looked up from his feet to see a little girl bundled in thick robes and a matching cloak, black boots adorning her tiny feet. The scarf around her neck obscured half of her face, muffling her voice, and in one of her mitten-ed hands she clung tightly to a string to which was tied a bright red balloon.
"What is it?" Draco asked gruffly, wincing slightly after the words slipped out. The girl didn't seem phased by his harshness, just held the balloon out to him and stared at him with wide blue eyes.
"You looked sad. Would you like a balloon? They make me happy when I'm sad," she said.
He stared back at her for a few moments, wondering at the kindness of children.
"Thank you," he said as he accepted it.
She skipped away, back into the bustling crowd.
He kept the balloon until it deflated.